The Tallest Man on Earth

Recently, the musician Phoebe Bridgers tweeted: “I swear to god I’ve been an emerging artist for like five years.” The same could be said for Kristian Matsson, also known as The Tallest Man On Earth. The Swedish singer-songwriter has always flown a little under the radar. He is consistently well-reviewed and esteemed as a live act, pals with well-known acts like Bon Iver, and even compared to Bob Dylan (which is itself a kind of career inhibitor), but he’s not quite a household name. For his upcoming fifth album, I Love You. It’s a Fever Dream, Matsson is like a slightly mellower and less heady Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle—his instruments of choice are still a bellowing voice and a frantically played acoustic guitar. The singles released thus far continue 2015’s Dark Bird Is Home narrative of fractured relationships and searching, but Matsson plays with a steadiness and optimism that feels contagious.